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Lizzo defends herself wearing face mask after backlash

She posted a photo of her throat to prove why she needed to wear a face mask.

 

Dominic-Madori Davis

IRL

Posted on Mar 21, 2020

Lizzo has found herself in a little bit of controversy. As the world fights to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19), medical supplies, including hospital gowns and face masks, have come to be in short supply.

Part of the reason why is that people stockpiled face masks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged people to only wear face masks if they are sick or are caring for someone who is sick to avoid a shortage and save them for the medical professionals on the frontlines in the fight against the coronavirus.

“Facemasks may be in short supply and they should be saved for caregivers,” the CDC’s coronavirus info page states.

Lizzo was caught wearing a face mask and was met with backlash by some who criticized her for contributing to the medical supply shortage.

The Daily Dot is committed to filtering the noise every day as COVID-19 seizes the internet’s attention worldwide. We bring you stories on everything related to the viral pandemic, from the state response to social media fallout, and all the technical flubsemerging social trends, and disinformation in between. READ MORE ->

The singer defended herself on Instagram in a now-deleted post, saying that she “got strep at the worst time ever.” For further evidence, she posted a picture of the back of her throat.

“It’s nobody’s business but I’d prefer y’all not criticize me for wearing a face mask and doing what I was supposed to do to protect the people in my home,” she continued.

But given the fact a pandemic is ravaging the world, some people felt strep was not a good excuse to buy a face mask.

“If she’s NOT infected she should NOT wear or buy face masks because it’s pointless and she’s just making them to not be able for people infected IT IS PEOPLE’S BUSINESS,” Twitter user @slaymenickiminaj commented.

Though some responded in her defense by saying strep is still a respiratory illness, and it’s not “unreasonable” for Lizzo to wear a mask.

“I hate that Lizzo felt like she had to show you a picture of her throat to explain why she wore a mask,” Twitter user @demilobo wrote.

In fact, most people agreed that Lizzo was not wrong for wearing a mask, given her situation.

“Any excuse is good to criticize #lizzo, she doesn’t feel well so she wears a mask at home to protect the people around her…you are ridiculous!” a Lizzo stan account said.

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*First Published: Mar 21, 2020, 11:29 am CDT